


An Honest Mistake

by the_painless_moustache



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Freddie is 4, Is there a tag for that?, M/M, OC thinks Liam's already married to Louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 13:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11082834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_painless_moustache/pseuds/the_painless_moustache
Summary: Liam's so in love with his neighbor and his neighbor's son that even his coworkers can see it





	An Honest Mistake

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alexenglish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexenglish/gifts), [tmeachhh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmeachhh/gifts).



> This is possibly the most tooth-rottingly sweet thing I've ever written?  
> Got the idea from a conversation with Alex and Tanisha, who are enablers in the best of ways

  _Are you bringing your boys to the barbeque this weekend?_

 It's been six hours since Liam's coworker Stacey had asked him that, smiling as she mixed far too much sugar into her coffee. The question had perplexed him all day. He'd said yes, but really only because he's not sure what other answer he could've given.

  _Your boys_.

 He taps his fingers on the steering wheel, turning onto his street. That was the part that confused him. _Your boys_ , not just possessive but plural. Maybe she'd confused him for someone else. Matt was about his height, had the same dark hair and once they'd shown up to work in the same tie. He has a couple of kids, Liam thinks. Maybe she thought he was Matt.

 He's still mulling the question over when he gets out of the car, and he's halfway to his front steps when his legs are tackled. He manages to catch himself, partly from practice and partly just luck, and he grins down at the little dirty-blonde head of hair pressed into his knees. "Well, what's this?"

 Freddie turns up and beams at him, one tooth missing since he'd lost it last week. "Missed you!"

 "Missed me?" Liam bends down and scoops him up. Freddie curls his little legs around his torso and grabs onto his neck to give him a proper hug. "How could you have missed me? You must've been too busy to miss me today."

 "Nuh-uh."

 "He's been wanting to show you this."

 Liam turns from Freddie's glowing face and grins at his dad as he crosses the yard waving a piece of paper. Louis's hair is a mess and he's got what might be Spaghetti-O's on his shirt, but Liam thinks he looks proper gorgeous. Which is the problem, isn't it? His mum's been on him for awhile now, he's been single for four odd years, but Liam can't see himself falling in love with someone when he's already in love with his neighbor.

 Louis crosses their shared drive way and holds up the picture for him. It's a stick figure with a tie—Freddie's identifying feature for his Liam drawings—and what could either be hair or ears.

 "I drew you as a puppy!" Freddie declares. Ah, ears then. Liam swings his messenger bag around his neck to free up his hand to take the picture. Freddie jams a finger into it. "Look, I drew your red tie with the yellow polka-spots."

 "It's the spitting image." Liam agrees. "That must be my tongue, then?"

 "Yep."

 "This is lovely, Freddie. You've made me into a wonderful puppy."

 Freddie gives him another squeeze and then clambers down. "You can have that one. I made one more where you, me, and daddy are all fish."

 "It's quite impressive." Louis says dutifully, eyes dancing with love and mirth.

 Liam's heart flutters. "Of course it is. Our next Picasso, isn't he?"

 "What's a..." Freddie pauses, frowns and tries to mull the word over to get it right.

 "Picasso," Liam says again.

 "Yeah, a Picasso."

 "He's a painter." Louis tells him. "Pretty good one."

 "Does he paint puppies and fish?"

 "No, that's _your_ talent." Liam says, poking his nose. Freddie preens. "Maybe you and me can take a look at some of Picasso's paintings next time I'm over."

 "Can you come over now?" Freddie blurts, bouncing. "Daddy, can he? _Can he?_ "

 Louis rolls his eyes fondly. "Freddie, Liam's just got home. He probably wants to eat supper."

 "We've got more Sket-ohs." Freddie says, confirming Liam's suspicion about the Spaghetti-O's on Louis's shirt. "He can have some of those."

 Louis glances at Liam apologetically. "I'm sure you don't want Spaghetti-O's,"

 "Spaghetti-O's are my favorite," Liam lies proudly. "Give me a minute to change and I'll be right over."

 "Bring the paintings!" Freddie chirps and then races back towards his house.

 Louis sighs and watches him race into the house fondly before turning to give Liam a smile. "You really don't have to come over if you don't want."

 "I don't mind if you don't." Liam shrugs. "I mean, I'd rather eat Spaghetti-O's with company than by myself."

 Louis laughs, that quiet private one that's Liam's favorite. Well, they're really _all_ Liam's favorite. He's truly a mess when it comes to Louis Tomlinson. "I wouldn't want to deny you the pleasant company of my son and I." he agrees.

 "I'll just go get changed then."

 "I'll start pulling up Picasso." Louis agrees, reaching out to pat his shoulder before he turns around to go back into his own house.

 Liam's shoulder aches where's Louis has touched it and he mutters more than a few curses to himself as he goes inside.

 He doesn't bother knocking when he goes over to Louis's. There's no point. They've lived next to each other for three years, and since Freddie had sunk his claws into him Louis said he had to be part of the family. Every time he knocks now it's either because of the time or because the door is locked.

 Neither of those things apply now, though, so Liam just goes in. He can hear Freddie and Louis in the kitchen, so that's where he goes. Freddie's up on his knees on a stool next to the bar, leaning over the iPad and studying a painting that must be Picasso's.

 "Liam!" Freddie chirps, tapping his hand on the bar. "C'mon! Daddy's showing me Picasso."

 "I thought maybe you'd prefer something with actual nutritional value," Louis says, drawing his attention to the pile of sandwich fixings he's working with. "Sorry if you were looking forward to Spaghetti-O's."

 "I'll have you make up for it another time," Liam chuckles, scooping Freddie up so he can sit on the stool and set him in his lap. "What's this then?"

 "Loo weft." Freddie says confidently.

 " _Le Rêve_ ," Louis corrects with a smile. "It's a Picasso."

 Liam bounces Freddie on his knee. "Well? What do you think of it, Tommo? Think he's an alright artist?"

 "I like her necklace." Freddie says, pointing on the screen. "But her hair is kinda messed up."

 "Well, even someone like Picasso can make mistakes." Liam says. Louis appears then, smile fitted on his face as he slides a sandwich across to Liam. He gives him a grateful nod and picks it up to take a bite. Freddie notices and makes a hungry little grunt. Liam passes the sandwich over to him for a bite, as well.

 "Freddie, you already ate." Louis scolds.

 Freddie ignores him and expertly flicks to the next picture. "This one's my favorite." he declares.

 "And why's that?" Louis wonders. "Because it's green?"

 "Yep."

 "That's a good color." Liam agrees. "Let's see...this one's called _Small House in the Garden_."

 "Like our garden?" Freddie wonders.

 "Dunno," Louis shrugs. "Does it look like our garden?"

 Freddie squints at it. "It's green like our garden, but it's got a tree in it. We don't have a tree in ours."

 "Maybe it's like Gran's garden then." Louis suggests, and Freddie's face lights up with the thought.

 "Yeah! Gran has lots of trees in her garden."

 This launches Freddie into a discussion about his grandmother's house and her garden and other things. Eventually the iPad blinks off, Picasso all but forgotten. Liam's well finished with his sandwich by the time Louis's phone starts chirping. Freddie goes uncharacteristically still on Liam's lap. Louis raises an eyebrow and pulls his phone out, switching off what Liam knows to be his bedtime alarm. "C'mon, Freddie."

 "But—"

 "We've got to brush our teeth." Louis cuts him off.

 "Can Liam help me do it?" Freddie blurts.

 Louis narrows his eyes. "Are you going to behave if he does?"

 "Yes!"

 " _Promise?_ "

 Freddie's little shoulders drop a fraction and he more seriously says "Yes, Daddy."

 "Ask Liam, then." Louis says with a wave of his hand, gathering Liam's plate from in front of him.

 "Liam, will you _please_ help me brush my teeth?"

 It's a wonder Liam's not a puddle on the floor every moment he's with Freddie, with those big blue eyes blinking up at him so hopefully. He nods, and Freddie climbs down his leg and runs for the bathroom, leaving Liam to follow in his wake.

 Liam helps him brush his teeth and get into pajamas and Freddie even ropes him into helping Louis tuck him in. He behaves though, like he'd promised, and when Louis shuts his door behind them it's with a fond sigh. "He's gonna walk all over me."

 "Is not." Liam argues, following him back towards the kitchen. "He thinks you're a god."

 "If he's actually _my_ boy, it won't last." Louis laughs, cracking open his fridge. "You want a drink?"

 "Sure." Liam takes the beer he's offered, watches Louis reach over to pop the top for him. _My boy_. The words remind him of Stacey today and he frowns as he takes his first pull.

 Louis raises an eyebrow with notice. "Everything alright then?"

 "Just something someone said at work," he muses, flicking a bead of sweat off his bottle.

 "That's what you get for working in an office." Louis sings, and Liam rolls his eyes. They've had this play-fight before. Louis is a coach. He'd played football in uni, had Freddie when he was a junior and then promptly rushed through his Phys Ed degree to get a job. Not that Liam thinks Louis would trade anything. He loves Freddie more than the bloody sun, and he loves his job as well. Liam just knows there's a universe out there somewhere where Tomlinson is printed on the back of kits and he's racing across sold-out fields.

 "I love my job, Louis." he reminds him. "And we're not as boring as we seem."

 "I never said you were boring." Louis chides.

 "You've implied it."

 "I think _offices_ are boring." He spins his bottle top on the counter. "Jury's out on you."

 "You Tomlinson boys are real charmers," Liam says, hoping that it sounds more than a joke than he means. He takes a swig of his beer to hopefully make it seem even _more_ nonchalant. "I was going to ask you to come with to this thing we're having Saturday, but if you're so adamant about us being boring..."

 Louis blinks at him. "Thing?"

 "Yeah, it's a barbeque. Something for morale or...I don't know why we do it." He scratches at his neck, which is starting to bead with sweat. "Everyone is bringing their kids, I was going to see if you wanted me to take Freddie off your hands for an afternoon. I think he'd get a kick out of it."

 "Oh," Louis's fingers twist his bottle top over his knuckles, like magicians do with their magic coins. Louis was surprisingly decent at slight-of-hand. Liam's never had the courage to ask him about it, but he gets a kick out of watching him pull tricks on Freddie. "Sure, if you wanted to."

 "You can come, too." Liam offers before he can chicken out of it. "There will be adults, and Patrick makes a hell of a burger. Might be a nice afternoon."

 Louis is uncharacteristically quiet across the bar, studying the way the bottle top rolls through his fingers. Liam's a second from taking it back when Louis says "That sounds nice. Saturday, you said?"

 "Yeah, about one."

 Louis drops the bottle top to pick up his beer and gives Liam a winning smile. "Count us in."

***

 You could ask anyone and they'd tell you that Liam is a fairly laid back guy. He's not the _most_ laid back, but he's definitely not uptight. He's always thought of himself as well-balanced.

 An almost-date with Louis Tomlinson shakes him to his core.

 He spends all of Friday night studying his closet, as if he doesn't know what sort of clothes people will be wearing to this thing. And when Saturday morning comes around he switches the outfit he's picked three times before settling on the first one again. He's hot and fidgety and he spends an extra fifteen minutes in his basement gym to hopefully try and chase off the anxiety of it, which of course only makes him _more_ anxious because that gives him fifteen minutes less to get ready.

 He finishes in plenty of time, of course. Getting dressed in khaki shorts and a polo isn't an Olympic sport, after all. Most of his time is spent worrying over whether or not to fix his hair, which he ultimately decides against because he feels like it would be far too telling.

 Freddie bangs on the door right on time, and Liam nearly falls down the stairs getting to it. When he opens it, Freddie—freshly bathed and dressed a t-shirt with a Batman logo—grins up at him and bounces on his toes. "Hi, Liam!"

 "Hey, Tommo." he says, anxiety leaking out of him slowly because this is _Louis and Freddie_. He doesn't have to be nervous about them. He's far past that, now. "Excited for today?"

 "Daddy said there'd be a castle!"

 "A _bouncy_ castle, bud." Louis says, coming up behind him. He grins at Liam from the bottom of the steps.

 Freddie frowns, turning to his dad. "How does a castle bounce?"

 "It's like a big rubber ball." Liam offers. "It's the shape of a castle, but it's just plastic, and when you go inside you can jump up and down in it."

 Freddie seems pretty skeptical of this idea, but he shrugs and then takes Liam's hand to drag him out of the house. He groans dramatically when Liam reminds him he needs shoes, and races back and forth from one end of the porch to the next while he puts them on.

 In the car, Freddie goes completely silent, chewing on his thumb in a way that Liam knows Louis is trying to break him off, but no one says anything about it. Louis, however, fidgets in the passenger's seat relentlessly, asking question after question. _How many people are coming? You're sure it's alright we come? I didn't bring anything, was I supposed to bring something?_

 "Louis," Liam says calmly, smiling. "It's a real casual thing, I promise."

 "But it's an office party, innit?" Louis mutters, bringing his own thumb to his mouth to chew at his nail. Liam glances in the mirror and watches his son do the same exact thing. "Not exactly an office type, Liam. I don't wanna embarrass you."

 "And if you do?" Liam wonders. Louis goes stiff in the seat next to him. "No, I just—I mean that it doesn't really matter, does it? I like you better than I like any of them."

 Louis turns to face the window. "Right, well...I'll still try to be on my best behavior."

 "Me, too." Freddie blurts. Louis sighs with a fond smile, turning around to pat his son's leg.

 "You've got nothin' to worry about, Tommo." Liam assures him, then reaches over to pinch Louis's arm. "You either, Dad Tommo."

 Silence falls in the car again, but it's far more comfortable. At least until they get to the park. Then Freddie starts squirming, because he can see the colorful games that have been set up and all the kids chasing each other around them. Louis turns around and starts lecturing him on rules but his voice shakes some and Liam's suddenly feeling horrible about making him come. Louis clearly doesn't want to be here, he should've just brought Freddie by himself.

 "Balloons!" Freddie blurts, undoing his buckles. "Daddy!"

 " _One_ balloon, Freddie." Louis insists, getting himself out of the car. Liam follows him.

 Stacey appears as if by magic, grinning in a lovely summer dress. "Liam! I'm so glad you made it. Are these your boys, then?"

 Liam blinks a little, stomach twisting. So she hadn't confused him with Matt?

 Freddie charges between them, interrupting the silence as he shrieks and disappears into a cloud of children. Louis makes an aborted reach for him before waving in defeat. "Alright, _bye_."

 "This is Louis," Liam says, gesturing to him. Stacey beams. "And that was Freddie."

 "He's adorable. And quite the artist!"

 Louis blinks a little. "Um, thank you?"

 "Liam loves to show off his pictures." she explains, and Liam's face burns all the way up to his hair roots. "Hangs them all up around his office. He mentioned he had an interest in Picasso last week. There's an exhibit in London in a month, you two should take him."

 Louis tucks his hands in his jean pockets. "We'll, ah...look into that. Thanks."

 Someone calls Stacey's name so she hurriedly asks "Liam, you know where everything is, right?"

 "Yeah, 'course." he mumbles.

 "Great. Wonderful to finally meet you, Louis. You two make a lovely couple."

 She vanishes and leaves Liam there to stew in his own horror. He doesn't dare look at Louis, can't possibly fathom what he must be thinking right now. Liam had asked him to this, Louis probably thinks he'd meant it as a date, which...well, he'd be _fine_ with it but that wasn't his intention and now Louis wasn't going to talk to him anymore and—

 "You keep Freddie's pictures in your office?"

 Liam does look at him now. He's wide-eyed and surprised but there's no disgust in his eyes which makes it easier for Liam to nod. "Yeah, it's—I mean, they're nice pictures. They make me happy."

 Louis's smile is slow but bright. Beautiful. Liam's stomach twists with it. "You keep my son's pictures in your office."

 "He gave them to me as gifts, and—"

 "Liam," Louis cuts him off, taking both cheeks between his hands. "I'm going to kiss you now."

 A million words start to tumble out of Liam's mouth all at once, even though all he really wants to say is _okay_. Louis ignores each and every one of them and tips up on his toes to press their lips together. It's as soft and warm as Liam had always imagined it would be, as comfortable as putting on his favorite t-shirt. When Louis pulls away to fall back onto his feet Liam chases him for another kiss, which Louis gives him with a grin.

 "Daddy!" Liam jerks back as Freddie's voice cuts between them, and he slams into Louis's legs, the balloon he's holding whapping Liam in the face. "Daddy, can you tie this to my arm?" Freddie asks, thrusting it at Louis.

 "Sure," Louis agrees, bending down to do so. He does it slowly, far more slowly than he needs to. "Freddie, can I ask you something?" Freddie nods dutifully. "Would you be alright if Liam and I started kissing sometimes?" Freddie shrugs, attention drawn by how the balloon bounces above his head before Louis takes his chin and brings it back to his own eyes. "I like Liam a lot, you see. And I'd like to kiss him sometimes, like Gran kisses Grandpa."

 Freddie glances to Liam, then back to his father. "Liam's good." he assures him. "You can kiss him if you want."

 Louis grins and smacks a kiss to Freddie's forehead before patting his arm. "Go play."

 Freddie turns to do just that and then turns himself around to clutch at Liam's leg. "You can kiss my daddy, too, if you want." he tells him, blinking up sweetly.

 "Thanks, Tommo." Liam murmurs. His heart is about to fall straight out of his chest, it's so full. "I appreciate that."

 Freddie nods and then disappears again.

 "You heard him, Payno." Louis says, standing smugly a foot away. A foot too far, in Liam's opinion. "You can kiss me if you want."

 "Shut up," Liam says fondly, and then does just that.

**Author's Note:**

> Think I missed tags? Found a typo? Lemme know!  
> I have a [tumblr!](http://thepainlessmoustache.tumblr.com/)


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